By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
About 33 people have been confirmed dead following heavy rains that flooded Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), authorities disclosed on Monday.
Jacquemain Shabani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and Security said the torrential downpour, The heavy rain began on Friday night until the early hours of Saturday morning, had caused major damage across several districts of the capital, leaving scores injured and destroying numerous homes.
Patrician Gongo Abakazi, Kinshasa’s public health Minister, said they can’t make an exact assessment because the water level is rising, and it is possible to find dead bodies when the water level reduces.
In response, the government has set up a crisis management unit in coordination with the armed forces, several ministries and the Kinshasa provincial government to carry out evacuations and deploy emergency teams.
The flooding has paralyzed much of the city’s infrastructure, submerging major roads and triggering widespread power and water outages across the city.
The Ministry of Transport reported severe disruption to routes to and from the N’djili International Airport, prompting the deployment of emergency ferry services to assist stranded travellers.
Meteorologists forecast continued heavy rainfall in the coming days, raising fears of further destruction in the city of 17 million people.
The country’s rainy season typically runs from November through May.
